The Affair
by cc2
Summary: Can Tim and Jill's marriage survive a night of mistake?
1. A Mistake

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**

Tim gathered his things and walked out the door of his home. The home that he shares with his wife and three sons. Unsure of how things went wrong he got in his Mustang and drove away. Meanwhile inside Jill was sitting in their bedroom crying into her pillow. Randy, their middle son, came into the room to check on her "Mom is everything ok" Jill looked up with red eyes and tears streaming down her face saying "I don't know Randy, I just don't know." He had never seen his mother like this, he and his brothers had heard the constant fighting between their parents the last week but none of them knew what they were fighting about or thought it would end with their dad leaving the house with his bags packed. He hadn't even said goodbye just walked out with his bags in some sort of trance.

It had all started a week prior when Tim got back from a business trip, another hardware show. Jill usually went with him but decided to sit this one out because the last time she had gone she ended spending so much time alone. Tim was actually glad he got to go alone there was a lot of things he wanted to look at and didn't want to feel he needed to spend time with Jill. Time apart can be good for a marriage or at least that is what they thought.

One week earlier…

Tim gave Jill a kiss goodbye before leaving for the hardware show in Chicago. "I'll miss you." She said. "I will miss you too." Tim said with a glint in his eye. Jill noticed the glint and said, "Aren't you going to be late?" "I think I have a few minutes." He responded. She turned from the door and he followed her back to their room. "Just something for you to remember for the next few days." He said when they were laying in bed entwined in each other. "I am going to miss you so much. It's funny you used to go on these kind of trips all the time when you sold tools but now I have kind of gotten used to you being home. It will seem weird not having you to fall asleep beside, but now I think you need to get going." Jill told him. Tim groaned and got up, he got dressed and they were at the door again saying goodbye. "I love you Jill" "I love you too, Tim. Have a safe trip."

Tim arrived at the hotel in Chicago after an uneventful trip. He called home and left a message for Jill telling her he had gotten there and he loved and missed her already. Then he went down to the restaurant for dinner. When he walked into the restaurant he noticed Kelly Barnes from Detroit Today sitting at the bar. He went up and said hello; she turned to him and smiled. "I had a feeling you would be here" she said. He looked at her a bit confused. "The show. I thought Tool Time might be doing a location shoot here." She said seeing his confusion. Hating to eat alone Tim invited her to have dinner with him. She accepted and they talked easily throughout the meal, so easily that Tim didn't notice the amount of alcohol he was consuming and the unconscious flirtations going on between them. As they finished dinner Tim felt he should be a gentleman and walk Kelly safely to her door. As they walked the hall the flirting continued and when they got to her door Kelly pulled Tim in for a kiss. Being under the influence he went along with it and followed her into her room. As he laid her down on the bed he said, "I love you so much Jill." Kelly knew that Tim thought she was Jill but continued anyway.

The next morning Tim awoke with a blasting headache and was confused as to the disarray of the bed. He went to get up when he heard singing in the shower and looked under the covers to find that he was indisposed. The shower turned off and out of the bathroom came Kelly; she was wearing a big smile and nothing else. "Good Morning sleepyhead" she said. Tim looked up and tried to apologize for taking advantage of her while she was under the influence of alcohol. She looked confused and said "I wasn't drunk Tim." Tim looked at her and said "but I was, I didn't know what I was doing. I love my wife and this is going to crush her." "What are you talking about? You can not deny the chemistry between the two of us, after last night, which was wonderful by the way. I won't tell if you don't." She responded. Tim just looked at her and knew that things were never going to be the same for him. He got up and recovered his clothing and left the room.


	2. Consequences

Tim returned to his room and found his message light blinking. Knowing that it was Jill he pressed play. Her voice came on the phone "Hey honey, sorry I missed your call we were out to dinner. I miss you too and I will call you in the morning." The next message played and it was her voice again "I thought I might catch you before you went to sleep. I hope you are having a good time. I love you. Talk to you in the morning." The next message was again from Jill "I guess I missed you again. Well I am off to school. I guess I will talk to you this evening. Have a great day. I love and miss you. Talk to you soon." The final message was from Al "Tim where are you? We are setting up the Tool Time booth and need your help. Come down as soon as you get this." Tim knew he had to go to work but he felt horrible. He took a quick shower, got dressed and went down to the show.

When Tim got down to the floor Al noticed he seemed a little off. Al asked, "Are you ok Tim?" "What, yeah Al I'm fine" Tim hastily said back. "Sorry I just didn't get enough sleep." Tim apologized. They started the Tool Time show live from the Hardware Show and as Tim was going through one of the booths Kelly walked by, he flubbed and tried to cover up. Al noticed that Tim was more distracted than usual and followed his eyes but couldn't see what had distracted him. After the show was finished Tim rushed back to his room and tried to call Jill, he really needed to hear her voice right now, only to have the answering machine go on. He left another message and laid down on the bed when there was a knock on the door. When he answered it he found Kelly on the other side, "I don't think it is a good idea for you to come in right now." Tim said. "Come on Tim we are both adults" she said "consenting adults" she added. "Yeah but one of us is a happily married consenting adult." He said. "You know you wanted to as much as I did. Why not just admit it? It doesn't have to end here either. We can continue this when we get back." She said. "There is nothing to continue. I love my wife." He responded as the phone began to ring. He ran to answer and was happy to hear the door close. "Hello." "Hey there I thought we were never going to catch each other." Jill responded. "What does that mean" Tim asked defensive. "Nothing I just thought I was going to be leaving you messages and you were going to be leaving me messages for the whole time you were gone." Jill said. Tim heard a noise and turned around to find Kelly in a sexy lingerie outfit, he let out a groan and Jill asked "Are you ok, Tim" "Yeah, just room service at the door. I'll call you later." He hung up before she could respond. Tim turned to Kelly and pleaded with her to leave the room. She declined and tried to give him a kiss. Tim pulled away. "Come on Tim we both know you want me." There was a knock on the door and Tim pushed Kelly into the bedroom and answered the door. He was surprised by what he found.

There standing in front of him was his wife Jill. "Surprise!" She said. "Well that would be what you would call it." Tim said as he tried to push her out the door and close it behind him. She was persistent in getting into the room. "Tim what are you doing." She asked confused as to why he was pushing her out of the room. She was about to give him a hug when Kelly walked out of the bedroom wearing only her lingerie. Jill looked from her to Tim and said, "What the hell is going on here?" Tim trying to remain calm said "Honey you remember Kelly Barnes from Detroit Today. She did that story on me a while back. Remember? She just happens to be staying here as well. You know doing a little something on the hardware show." Jill just looked at Tim and said, "Doing a little something? Tim why is there a woman in her underwear in your hotel room." "That is a funny story." He started. "Well go ahead I am waiting" She said sounding very inpatient. "Tim, honey let me tell her." Kelly said. "No that is ok" Tim said. Jill looked at her husband and said "No let her tell me." Kelly said "Well you noticed the chemistry between us when I was doing the interview on Tim. Last night we had dinner and just couldn't deny our feelings anymore." "What are you saying? Jill, it didn't happen like that. I was drunk, I thought she was you. I really don't remember much about it." Tim responded. Jill just looked at the in disbelief "So you are saying that you thought this was me because you were drunk and what happened." "You know" Tim said, "I need you to say it" Jill said "Well one thing led to another and went too far. Jill if I could I would take it back but I can't. Honey, we need to get past this." Tim pleaded with her. Jill asked, "This has been going on how long?" "Last night was all" Tim responds. "And I am supposed to believe you" Jill says. "Yes. Please Jill I love you. You are the only one for me." Tim says. Unable to control her emotions any longer Jill breaks down and says, "I need some time alone. Obviously this was a mistake to come here." She turns around and walks out the door. Tim tries to run after her but Kelly stops him. "Come on she already knows about us, Tim, let her go." "I can't Kelly she is my life." Tim says breaking down.

All the way home Tim just kept thinking about how he was going to make this up to Jill. He knew it was going to be hard but he had to get her back. When he got back to the house that he shared with his family he sat outside in his car for a while trying to work up the courage to go in and face Jill. He slowly got out of the car and opened the front door. The boys were sitting at the kitchen table doing their homework and Jill was cooking dinner. He said his hellos to which Jill didn't respond. Then he asked the boys to go up and get washed up for dinner. Jill continued to mull around the kitchen ignoring him, he could tell she had been crying. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy. Seeing this made Tim ache to hug her and protect her from everything. "Jill please talk to me." Tim pleaded. "I know I made a mistake but we can't end things like this. I won't let us." He continued "Please Jill you are my life. I don't think I will make it without you there." Jill looked at him and said, "I need some time to compute everything I saw. You can stay until we figure things out, but on the couch." Tim responded "I know it will be hard work but I will get you back." Jill turned her face away and through tears said "Tim I am not sure if I will ever be able to trust you again." Hearing her say that tore his heart out because of how much he loves her and knowing that he was the cause of the pain in her eyes.

Dinner that night was tense. The boys noticed that their parents weren't talking so Randy tried to break the ice "So Dad how was the Hardware show. I thought you were going to be gone longer." Tim looked at Jill and answered "It went well, we finished up early, so I thought I would come home." Brad added, "Were you tempted by anything there." "What is that supposed to mean?" Tim asked loud and defensively. "Tim" Jill said forcefully. "What all I wanted to know was what he meant by that question." Tim said. Brad rephrased his question "I meant were there any cool new tools that you were tempted to buy." "Oh, no not this year." Tim said and looked down at his dinner. The rest of the evening went by quietly for the Taylor's. The boys went to bed and Tim and Jill started arguing.

The next week went the same way. Tim and Jill would only argue when the boys were not around but the boys knew something was wrong. There were mysterious phone calls where the caller would hang up if Tim didn't answer the phone and when he did Tim would say "please stop calling here" and hang up. The boys could sense the tension between their parents and then came the night they watched their father leave with his bags packed.


	3. Time

Tim was driving around town after leaving his home and wife wondering where he should go. He finally pulled to the side of a street and parked. When he rang the doorbell he was surprised where he had ended up. Al opened the door flustered to see Tim standing there with his bags. He invited Tim in and asked his friend what was going on. Tim told him that he and Jill were taking time apart to evaluate their relationship. Al was shocked because out of all the couples he knew the one couple he thought were the strongest was Tim and Jill. He didn't mention this to his friend and co-worker because he could see the amount of pain this was causing him in his eyes. Al told Tim he was welcome to stay with him as long as he needed. Tim thanked Al and went into the guest bedroom with his things and closed the door. Al could tell Tim wanted to be alone so he went about what he was doing before Tim knocked on the door.

Meanwhile at the Taylor house.. Jill was sitting in her room looking at pictures of herself and her husband. She couldn't believe that he has just left the house with his stuff and they were so unsure of their future. Jill thought that Tim would be there forever, he was her rock, her best friend, her lover, her other half. But how could he have done what he did with that woman, Jill was having such a hard time getting over it, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to trust him again. He had so many excuses for himself but she was having a hard time believing anything that came out of his mouth. The phone rang and Jill answered there was no one there, Jill knew it was her so she said, "He isn't here anymore. He moved out today." Then there was a disconnect on the other end. Jill hoped that would be the end of her calling her home.

The next month went by slowly for Tim and Jill. Each one of them just going through the motions of life. Al was carrying Tool Time as Tim was so down he couldn't even joke anymore. Jill was missing classes and moping around the house. She had even resorted to watching Tool Time every day so she could see her husband. She noticed how upset he was and that helped her in some way knowing that this was just as hard for him as it was for her. The kids weren't sure what to do, they still didn't know what had happened between their parents but they knew that it wasn't good and that neither one of them was happy without the other.

The phone rings at the Taylor home and Jill jumps. She was deep in thought about her crumbling marriage and how she would handle things without Tim. She answers with a quiet "Hello". "Hey there. Long time, no talk." It was Tim. Just the sound of his voice brought all kinds of emotions to the surface for her. Trying to retain her composure she tells him "The boys are still at school." "I know. I called to talk to you." Tim replies. She holds her breath and says, "I am not sure there is much more to talk about." "Do you think you could find it in your heart to have dinner with your husband?" Tim asks. "Tim" Jill starts. Tim interrupts "Please Jill give me a chance to explain on more time about what happened." Jill says, "I am not sure I can do this right now. I need some more time." Tim says "Pleeeaaase" in his most persuasive way. Always having a hard time saying no to him when he asks like that she agrees. After they say their good-byes Jill runs upstairs and stares in her closet trying to figure out what to wear. She wants to be sexy and seductive to show him just what he is missing but not too much so that she has a hard time resisting him. She decides on a little black dress with spaghetti straps and some slinky black heels. Once she has that figured out she takes a shower and gets ready to leave.

Meanwhile Tim was at Al's wondering what he should wear. He thinks it should be something conservative so, as not to tempt himself into thinking that something will happen after dinner. He decides on one of his suits and leaves for Sorrentino's. When he arrives he asks for a quiet table in the corner so that they will have privacy. While he waits he thinks about what he is going to say to her when she arrives. He is so lost in thought he doesn't notice when someone he knows comes in the door and sits at the bar. A few minutes later Jill arrives and takes his breath away. He is not quite sure how he should great her so he gets up and pulls out her chair and gives her a kiss on the top of her head, inhaling her scent while he does. He thinks about how good she looks and just that thought brings up a lot of feelings in him, he knows that he wants to hug and kiss her all over. His face was turning red and Jill notices this and knows what he his thinking about, she is satisfied that her choice of outfit was perfect. They order their food and silently wait for it to be served. Jill breaks the silence by saying "How have you been Tim?" After regaining his composure Tim says "Good and you?" Jill looks at him and wishes that the last month had never happened. She should have gone to that Hardware Show with him. No, it was not her fault she had to remind herself of that constantly. Tim was looking at her as if he was waiting for an answer and she had to ask, "I'm sorry what did you say." because she didn't hear him. He repeats "I know that what I did hurt you and you will never know how horrible I feel about it but do you ever think you will be able to forgive me?" Jill says, "Tim I just don't know. When I found that woman in your room wearing only her underwear I was devastated. All the trust I had in you just evaporated and it is going to take some time to gain that back. Can you understand that and give me the time I need?" Tim says, "I can try but being away from you and the kids is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. I miss them and I miss you. But if it is time you need, it is time you will get. I have no doubts that we will get past this and things will be good for us again soon." Jill looks at him with tears in her eyes and says, "I am glad you can be so optimistic because I am having a hard time with that right now." The tears start to fall down her face. Tim reaches over the table and wipes them away, just the touch of his hand on her makes her tingle and she knows she needs to end this evening before something else happens. Before she can end the evening Tim suggests they dance, she has a hard time refusing him since she is aching to be in his arms.

Tim leads her to the dance floor. He puts his arms around her and she melts into his muscular form. They fit together like a ball and glove. Both are lost in their own thought while they glide effortlessly around the floor. Tim is thinking about how good she feels in his arms, he inhales deeply taking in her scent for his memory. Jill is thinking about the strength and love that she feels when so close to the man she has spent most of her life loving. The song ends but neither wants to let go, until they hear a familiar voice say "Well isn't this nice." Tim looks over and finds Kelly watching them and says, "What are you doing here?" Unable to bear being with the woman who caused her so much pain Jill goes back to the table and grabs her belongings and leaves the restaurant. Tim tries to catch up with her but knows it is too late to apologize again for the terrible outcome of this evening. He gets in his car and leaves while Kelly looks on smiling.

Two weeks later…

It has now been seven weeks since that fateful night in Chicago that ruined the Taylor's life. Life was getting back into a routine for Jill even though it was without her husband. The boys were starting to think their father was never coming home. Tim continued to live with Al. Although Al knew the marriage was in trouble he still didn't know what had caused the Taylor separation. All he knew was that Tim was not the same without his wife; this prompted Al to go over to see Jill one evening. Al knocked on the door; her visitor surprised Jill. She invites him in and asks him to stay for dinner. The boys were out at friends and Jill didn't relish in eating alone. He agrees and then Jill asks, "What are you doing her? Did Tim send you?" Al answers "No, Tim didn't send me. But he is part of the reason I am here." Jill starts to worry asking, "Did that stunt on Tool Time really hurt him?" Al laughs and says, "No he is fine. Since when do you watch Tool Time." Relieved Jill says, "I have been watching it a lot since he left." Al saw the pain in her face when she said that and replies "Well that is kind of why I am here. I have never seen Tim so upset. Whatever this is that is going on between the two of you can't you try and work it out? He is just not himself at work or at home. Do you know that since he moved in with me he has yet to make a joke about my mother." Jill smiled and says, "I would think that would make you happy." Al says "I does but that is just not Tim. What happened anyway." Jill says, "You mean Tim hasn't told you?" Al shakes his head no and Jill continues "That should be something you ask Tim." Al looks at her and says, "All I know is that Tim is lost without you." They end the conversation about the failing Taylor marriage there and move onto catching up with each other.

Tim had been avoiding the calls from Kelly hoping that she would finally get the message. One day she even came to the Tool Time set wanting to talk to him. "Haven't you done enough" was all he could say to her. She could sense the anger in his voice but wasn't discouraged by it; she was going to have Tim. She turned to him and said, "I think we need to talk in private." "About what?" he said back. "That night in Chicago." She said. "There really is nothing I want to say about that night." He said. "Well there might be when I tell you this, I am pregnant." She said. Tim just looked at her in disbelief "How could that have happened?" "Tim, do I have to explain the birds and the bees to you?" she asked. "No I know how it happened but I can't believe it is happening to me. My marriage is in shambles because of that night and now this. What a mess I have created." He said. Kelly turned and says, "That mess is our unborn child. Whether you believe it or not that baby was conceived out of love. Yours and Mine." "Kelly, how many times do I have to tell you I love my wife." Tim answered. "Well what are we going to do about this new little addition?" Kelly asked. "I need some time to think." Tim answered. Kelly gives him her phone number and says, "I am so excited we are having a baby together." then she leaves. Tim is even more devastated than before, he leaves the studio and drives to his home.


	4. A Problem

Chapter 4

Tim walks to the front door and knocks. Jill answers in her ratty old bathrobe. She is surprised at her visitor and a little flustered to have him standing in front of her. They hadn't seen each other since she ran out of the restaurant; they had talked on the phone briefly when he would call to talk to the boys. He ached to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her; she looked beautiful even in her bathrobe. Shaking those thoughts away he said "Jill, we need to talk." Jill was distracted by how wonderful he looked and took a while to answer, "What about." "Can I come in? This isn't really something we can talk about in the doorway." He asked. "Sorry, sure, come on in." She replied. "What's up?" Jill asks. "You look good." Tim said back. "Tim why are you here?" She asked but thinking the same thing about him. "Something has come up and I thought you should hear it from me first." Tim says. "What now?" Jill asks. "Jill I just want you to know how terrible I feel and how I know this whole thing has torn you up and I know that you may never forgive me or trust me again. The thought of that just rips me up inside because I have only ever loved you and I know I will never love another." Jill interrupts him "Tim what is this about." Tim continues "Well there seems to have been another development from that horrible night. It seems that, well I guess I should say, you know sometimes." Trying to speed things up Jill says "Tim what are you trying to say?" Again Tim continues "There is no easy way for me to say this Jill, so I am just going to come right out and say it Kelly is pregnant." Speechless and shocked Jill turns away from Tim to hide her feelings. Tim knows that she is upset and says "Jill, are you ok?" She looks back at him with tears in her eyes and says, "Are you sure it is your child?" Tim replies "That is what she said. Why would she lie to me?" Jill asks, "I just want to know how is that possible you had a vasectomy." "I guess they are not 100 foolproof. Wasn't that one of the possibilities the doctor told us." Tim says. Jill looks at him bewildered and says "Are you sure you can trust her? Tim I have been thinking a lot about what happened and I find it extremely strange that you don't remember anything. I know you remember kissing her and laying her down but that is as far as your memory goes." "What does that have to do with anything." Tim asks. "Nothing, I guess I was just thinking and hoping that maybe nothing really happened but with this new development I guess that is no longer a possibility." Jill says. Tim looks at her and wonders if what she is saying could be true. Did Kelly just make up the whole thing, but he was in her bed and he was naked. Of course he doesn't remember anything after saying I love you so much Jill but why would anyone make up something like that. Kelly knew it would destroy his marriage. When Tim looked at Jill he saw her staring back at him, he could feel the love coming from her. She sees him looking at her and turns away embarrassed that she was caught staring. Tim walks over to her and puts his hand on her arm, she slowly looks at him and he can see the tears forming in her eyes. "Please don't cry Jill." Tim says and continues "I know this will all come out ok and we will be together again." Jill says, "I wish I could be that confidant." Tim wraps his arms around her and she melts into him, he has wished for this moment for the last month and here it was. Jill pulls away and says, "I think it is time for you to go now, before I do something I might regret." Tim tries to give her a kiss but she turns her head. He then turns to leave the house and says, "I am going to get you back. I promise." After he is gone Jill says to herself "I'm not so sure that I can let that happen anymore."

The next day Kelly is surprised with a visit from Tim. "You have finally come to your senses have you." She says. Tim looks at her and says "I am not sure how many more times I can tell you I love my wife and I will get her back. There is one thing though that I have been thinking about, it is impossible for me to have fathered your child. I had a vasectomy last year." Shocked Kelly says, "Well those are not always foolproof. Right?" Tim says, "You should know if the baby you are carrying is mine. Another thing that is bothering me Bits and pieces about that night keep coming back to me and I was wondering why would you continue to make love to me when I called you by my wife's name?" Looking flustered Kelly says, "What are you talking about?" Tim says, "Well I have a memory of telling Jill how much I loved her. But Jill wasn't there it was you and then the next thing I remember is waking up without my clothes on in your bed." Getting angry Kelly says, "Whether you like it or not you are the father to my child what you do about it is your choice." Realizing that he has made her angry Tim apologizes and before leaving he says, "I have a responsibility to this child and will support it any way I can." After he leaves Kelly looks out the window and to herself says, "Oh Tim if you only knew."

That afternoon at work Al confronts Tim with what he overheard the day before. Al says "Tim, I wanted to talk to you about this last night but you came home so late. I overheard your conversation yesterday with Kelly. I want you to know that although disappointed that you did that to Jill I will help you through this in whatever way you need." Al gives Tim a hug and Tim makes a grimace face and pulls him off. Tim says, "Al you don't know the whole story." Since Al knew about Kelly he decided to confide in him what had happened that night in Chicago. It felt good to have someone else know the true reason that Jill and he had separated.

Tim was driving to home from work that night but all he was thinking about was that night in Chicago. How could he have done that to Jill? He keeps flashing back to the dinner and the drinking. The walk up to the room. The flirting going on between the two of them. The kiss at the door. The laying her down on the bed. Telling Jill how much he loves her. Then nothing until the next morning. What happened in between, he knows what he was told happened but why can't he remember. Not realizing where he was going until it was too late, all he saw were the headlights from the other car, all he heard was the crash of metal on metal and then he was unconscious.


	5. Waiting

**Disclaimer: I still do not own any of these characters. **

**Thanks to all who have reviewed . I appreciate your support.

* * *

**

Jill was sleeping when she was awoken by a sudden jolt of fear. Forgetting for a moment she rolled over and reached for her husband of course he wasn't there and this brought up all the feelings of disappointment Jill had felt over the last two months. She looked at the clock and noticed it was only 11pm, she had gone to bed early that night because she hadn't been feeling well. As she lay in bed and tried to go back to sleep the phone started ringing, irritated at the late call she answered more abruptly than she would have normally. The person on the other end identified himself as a Michigan State Trooper and Jill started to worry, she thought all the kids were home. The Trooper started by asking, "Are you Jill Taylor, the wife of Tim Taylor?" At the mention of Tim's name Jill's heart started racing; she answered "Yes." The Trooper then went on to tell Jill of the car accident Tim had benn involved in earlier in the evening and the hospital where he was taken by ambulance. He wouldn't give her anymore information than that, after she hung up she realized she had been holding her breath. She got dressed and went to the hospital; she decided not to tell the boys until she knew more about his condition.

She arrived at the hospital and was directed to sit down in the waiting area of the Emergency Department for the doctor. The only thought going through her mind was please God don't let him be dead. After about 10 minutes the doctor came out and told her she could see Tim. He walked and talked with her to his room, the doctor told her "Your husband was in a very serious car accident. He was rushed to surgery shortly after his arrival, we had to remove his spleen and he had a liver laceration that we repaired. He is on a breathing machine. Unfortunately he was unconscious when he came in and has yet to wake up." Jill looked at him with tears in her eyes and says, "He's in a coma?" The doctor looks at her and says "I am afraid so. The next 24 hours are crucial. We won't know the extent of any neurological injuries until he wakes up. But all his scans looked good." Unable to control her emotions any longer Jill breaks down just as they get to Tim's room. She walks in and looks at the man in the bed, the man she has spent most of her life loving. He looks so weak and lifeless. She finds a chair, pulls it up to his bed, sits down, and takes his hand in hers. The doctor tells her "I will leave you alone now. If you need anything please let the nurses know." He walks out the door unaware that Jill didn't hear a word he said all her attention was focused on her husband lying in the bed not moving and breathing only with the help of a machine. Jill spent the rest of the night watching the nurses come in and out of her husband's room, taking his vitals, answering alarms, checking his neurological status and each time there was no change. She watched the heart monitor map out his every heartbeat, the breathing machine gives him his every breath and still no change. By morning she had fallen asleep slumped over his bed with her head on his arm. She awoke when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Jill looked up to find Al. The hospital had found Al's number among Tim's belongings and had called to tell him about the accident. Jill got up and Al wrapped his arms around her and she sobbed until she couldn't cry another tear. She pulled away from Al and distracted says, "Thanks, I am glad you are here. I need to call the boys they will worry. I didn't even leave them a note." Al says, "Don't worry that is all taken care of. Wilson is with them and will bring them over to the hospital later." Jill is very grateful that she and Tim have such wonderful friends. She looks at Al and says, "You know over the last two months we have been fighting. It has been horrible. Not a day goes by that I don't think I should forgive him and have him come home but my pride gets in the way. Now I may never have the chance to tell him again how much I love him. He is my life he knows that, doesn't he?" Trying to reassure her Al says, "Of course he does. You know he just told me yesterday what happened. I am so sorry Jill I should have been looking out for him, I knew he was upset before he left work, I should have drove him home." Jill says "Al this is not your fault. Another driver ran a red light and hit Tim head on. You know the sad part is that the other driver walked away from the accident without a scratch and he was the one drunk." They were interrupted when an alarm rings and all the nurses come running into the room. Jill is requested to leave the room and she hears the nurses calling out for the cor cart. "No, please God no." screams Jill. Al takes her by the shoulders and guides her to the waiting room. She sinks into the chair crying. The elevator opens and Jill looks up and her crying stops and her emotion turns to anger.

Off the elevator walks Kelly. She looks around and sees Al and Jill, not feeling ashamed she walks right up to them and asks about Tim. Al holds Jill back, while telling Kelly "It is probably not a good time for you to be here." Jill adds, "You have no right to be here. He can only have family visitors right now and you are not part of the family." The elevator opens up again and the Taylor boys get off followed by Wilson just in time to hear Kelly say, "I may not be family yet but my child sure is." Jill sees the confused reaction from her boys, she wrangles free from Al and she slaps Kelly across the face. Everyone is speechless until Kelly goes after Jill. With Wilson holding Kelly back and Al holding Jill back heated words are exchanged between the two, the door to the unit opens and everyone quiets down, the doctor comes out to talk to them. He takes Jill back into the unit and tells her that Tim's heart stopped, they were able to resuscitate him but he still remains in a coma. She goes back out to the waiting room for her kids and takes them in to see their dad. Each one of them is trying to be strong to support their mom but they all fight back tears when they see their usually vibrant dad in the hospital bed lifeless. She brings them back out to Wilson and thanks him for caring for them while she is at the hospital, she gives them all a kiss and puts them on the elevator. She notices that Kelly is still there and tells her "I will never let you in to see MY husband so you might as well go home." Kelly says, "I know you don't like it but you have to face facts I am caring your husband's child." Jill says, "I am not so sure about that. I really think you should just leave." Kelly turns and says, "You haven't seen the last of me." Jill returns to Tim's beside for another night of waiting.


	6. Truth

Jill had spent another night watching Tim and praying. There was one improvement, he was removed from his breathing machine and now breathing on his own with just a small amount of supplemental oxygen. That was very encouraging news. Again Jill had fallen asleep in her chair.

Tim was unaware of where he was all he knew was that he was having a hard time moving and couldn't open his eyes. He could hear Jill's voice talking to him and praying for him to pull through. He remembered the accident and what he was thinking about before it happened and then he was back to that night in Chicago, the night that ruined the last two months of his life. He sees himself eating and drinking, talking and flirting with Kelly. Then he was walking her to her room and then kissing her, why had he not pulled away. Then they were in her room and he said, "I love you so much Jill." He laid her down on the bed and then nothing until the next morning and he was waking up without his clothes on. Tim's eyes shot open and he had finally remembered what had happened.

Jill was sleeping in the chair next to his bed and he didn't want to wake her. He had woken up just a short time ago and was watching his beautiful wife sleeping. He had remembered everything that happened that awful night in Chicago. Jill started to stir and opened her eyes. Tim says, "So I have to almost get killed for you to spend the night with me." Jill was so shocked and relieved that he was awake that she started hugging and kissing him all over. Tim was grimacing from the pain of his injuries but he wasn't about to stop this outpouring of affection from his wife. Tim picked up his arms and put them around Jill and pulled her in for a tight hug, inhaling her scent, he released her and their faces were inches from each other. Tim then pulled her in for a kiss and Jill responded passionately thinking this is exactly where she wanted to be. Kissing her husband with his arms wrapped around her. The nurse came in the room and clears her throat and says, "I see the patient has awaken." Tim and Jill break apart and Jill shyly smiles seeing they were caught. The nurse says, "I was just checking on his increased heart rate but I think I know what was causing that. How are you feeling Mr. Taylor?" Tim looks at Jill and she smiles while he says, "All is right in the world today."

After the doctor came in and examined Tim he was sent from ICU to the regular floor. The boys had been in to visit as well as Wilson and Al. Then it was just Jill and Tim alone again in the room, Tim noticed how drained Jill looked and told her "I think you should go home and get some rest." She looks at him concerned and says, "I don't want to leave you alone." Tim says, "I won't b alone I have a whole flock of nurses at my beckon call." Jill smiles at this and says, "It would be nice to go home, have a shower and change." Tim then says, "You should sleep in our bed tonight as well." Jill looks devilishly at him and says, "Are you trying to get rid of me." Tim says "No, not a chance. Trust me if this bed would hold two I would demand you spend the night and comfort me." Jill says, "This feels good to be able to joke with you. It's been so long. You know this accident has really taught me what is important in life. I love you Tim and I want us to get through this mess." Tim looks seriously at her and says, "It may not be as much of a mess as you think." Confused Jill says, "What are you talking about?" Yawning Tim says, "I'm tired let's talk about this tomorrow. You really should go and get some rest." Jill says, "Ok but I will be back first thing in the morning. I love you Tim" Tim says, "I have waited a long time for you to say that to me again. I love you too Jill." Jill gives him a kiss and leaves. On her way out Jill runs into Kelly. She is on her way to see Tim, Jill confronts her in the hallway and asks "Don't you ever give up? My husband just had major surgery and here you are trying to agitate him." Kelly looks smugly at her and says, "Tim called and asked to see me." Jill is speechless and Kelly steps around her and walks into Tim's room.

The door to his room opens and Tim is not surprised when Kelly walks into the room. He had called her to come when Jill was walking the boys and Wilson out. He was surprised though by the sight of his wife coming into the room behind her and with a full head of steam. Tim says, "Jill I thought you were going home." Jill looks at him and says, "Is this the reason you were pushing me to go home. I don't understand what is going on. Why would you ask her to come here and see you?" Kelly says, "Come on Jill don't you see what is happening? Your husband asked me to come here because he wants to do right by our baby." Tim says, "Well actually I called you to come here because while I was in my coma I was finally able to remember the whole night." Jill and Kelly look at Tim surprised and both say, "You remembered what happened?" Tim says, "Yes I do. It really comes out to be quite a boring story. After dinner and drinking I walked Kelly up to her room and we did kiss. When we went inside I remember saying I love you so much Jill and then lying down on the bed and that was it. I fell asleep or passed out is more like it. Then the next morning I woke up in your bed and thought the worst thing in the world had happened. That I was unfaithful to my wife. But you see Jill that never happened. Kelly undressed me and put me in her bed and then came to my room the next day thinking I would give in to her sober because I had thought that I had already been unfaithful while drunk. You were trying to ruin my marriage all along." Kelly defensively says, "That is quite a story Tim but why in the world would I do something like that. And what about the baby?" Tim says "Because back when you did that interview of me for Detroit Today I turned you down and you were upset. You thought that if you could get Jill out of the way I would come to you. You have no idea the commitment I have to my wife. It almost worked but Jill knows deep down in her heart that I love her and her alone and would never ever betray the love or trust that she has given me. So you had to come up with something that would drive her away. Bur how did you know she was going to be at the hotel that day." Kelly says, "I don't know what you are babbling about." Tim says, "You didn't know. You knew I would tell her when I got home and that things would dissolve themselves it was just luck that she showed up and found you and you got to see the whole thing happen. I may have been drunk that night but I know I would never have cheated on my wife because we have a relationship that is stronger than you think. There really isn't a child you made that part up as well and it might would have worked if I didn't have a vasectomy already." Kelly interrupts him and says "Are you finished. Come on you think I would do something like that. We have chemistry and if you would stop putting your wife on a pedestal in between us you would see what a good thing I am. We could be good together just give us a chance." Tim replies "I don't think I could ever love anyone other than my wife, she is my life. Please don't ever call me again. I now know the truth and if I ever hear from you again I will call the police and tell them you are harassing my family and I. Now I think it is time for you to leave." Looking defeated Kelly says, "You really don't know what a good thing you are throwing away." She then huffs out the door. Jill was standing there quietly taking in the developments of the last few minutes. Tim looks at her and says, "Jill are you ok?" Jill clears her throat and says, "I think I need some time to absorb what just happened. I am going to go home and I will see you tomorrow." She walks out of the room without saying goodbye. Leaving Tim unsure about how things were going to end up.

**The Taylor Home…**

Unable to sleep Jill sat up in her room thinking about all that had just occurred at the hospital. She was happy to know that Tim had not been unfaithful but the whole thing was still bothering her. The way Tim thought that Kelly was Jill and that he would have done more with her if things he had not passed out. But why was he so out of it? She knew that he liked to drink but he always knew when to stop so why that night in Chicago had he had a problem. Why was she trying so hard to tear apart her marriage? She didn't seem like a bad person when she had done the interview on Tim. Jill decided she was going to visit with Kelly the next morning before going to the hospital. After she made that decision she was able to fall asleep.

**Meanwhile at the Hospital….**

Tim had fallen asleep quickly after Jill and Kelly had left. He knew that Jill would have a lot of things to discuss with him in the morning so he wanted to be well rested. Kelly had doubled back and waited for him to fall asleep then she quietly went in his room and injected something into his IV. As she was leaving the floor she could hear the call over the hospital intercom "Cor Zero 4th Floor" she smiled internally because she knew that that call was for Tim. The hospital staff was trying to save his life right now.


	7. Healing

The silence of the night was once again broken by the sound of the phone ringing. Jill awoke confused. When she answered and heard the person on the other end saying that Tim had gone into cardiac arrest, she dropped the phone and screamed out "NO". Brad and Mark heard their mother scream and came running. When they got to the room she was up and frantically getting dressed. They assumed it was news about their dad and called Randy on the intercom. They all headed out together for the hospital unsure of Tim's condition. 

They arrived at the hospital and were directed once again to the ICU. Once they were able to resuscitate Tim he was sent there until they could figure out what caused his heart to stop. Jill had been very withdrawn since the call from the hospital. Brad was holding on tight to her afraid that she would again break down. She kept saying, "I can't lose him. I just can't lose him. Not now." The doctor came out of the unit and pulled Jill aside and says, "We aren't sure how but your husband was given a lethal dose of liquid cocaine. It was injected into his IV. His heart stopped but we were able to resuscitate him. He will spend the night in the ICU then should be able to be moved back to the regular floor tomorrow. I am so sorry and believe me this will be investigated." Jill looked at him and says, "Do you know if he had any visitors after I left?" The doctor says, "I don't know but the nurses might have seen something." Jill thanks him and goes in to see Tim. He again looks so pale and weak. This last battle for his life has left him feeling drained. He turns to her, smiles and says, "I guess I shouldn't have made you go home. My heart just won't beat without you by my side." She smiles and gives him a tight hug and long kiss. Then after making sure Al had come for the boys, she pulls up a chair and says, "Now let someone try and hurt you. They will have to go through me first." Tim jokes, "My own body guard. And not a bad looker." She smiles at him and he smiles back and then falls asleep. Jill watches him sleep and thinks I know exactly who did this to you and believe me when I get my hands on her I will snap her like a twig. For Jill all the pieces had finally fell into place.

The next morning when Tim woke up he found the chair where Jill was sitting empty. He rang for the nurse and asks; "Do you know where my wife is?" The nurse says, "I saw here leave about an hour ago. I'm sorry she didn't say where she was going or when she would be back." Tim says, "I guess I will just have to wait for her to come back. Thanks." The nurse leaves and Tim dozes off again.

Jill knocks on the apartment door. The door opens and Kelly is surprised by her visitor she tries to close the door but Jill puts her arm out and catches it before it shuts. Kelly looks at her and rudely says, "What do you want?" Jill says, "We have some things to discuss." Jill pushes her way into Kelly's apartment, with much protest from Kelly. Jill looks around and Kelly nervously follows her. Jill finds exactly what she is looking for, an empty bottle of liquid cocaine and spare syringes. Jill turns to Kelly and says, "Now, what do we have here?" Kelly searches frantically for an explanation. Jill continues, "I know what you did. Not only last night but that night in Chicago. You see I have been thinking ever since that night and things just didn't seem right. Tim usually can handle his intake of alcohol so what made that night different and why did he think you were me. You spiked his drink with something and when he fell asleep he ruined your plans so you had to come up with something else. That is what I walked into the next day in his room, you assumed that since he thought he was already unfaithful he would just give in to you. But when he didn't and I found you, you thought that would be the end of our marriage. You just didn't know how committed we are to each other. Then last night when he rejected you again you lost it and thought if you couldn't have him than nobody can. Does that sound about right?" Kelly has tears in her eyes and says, "I really didn't want to hurt him but I couldn't stand the thought of him being with someone else and not me. He never even gave me a chance." Jill kind of feels sorry for her in a weird sort of way and says, "Kelly, he was married with children when you met him." Kelly says, "I know and I saw how much he loved you and I wanted that for myself. When we were in the same room with you he would light up and I wanted to feel that kind of love just once in my life. You do know you are the center of his universe." Jill smiles at the thought of her love for Tim and says, "And he is mine." Kelly says, "So what now?" Jill says, "I need to report you to the police. You tried to kill my husband." There is a knock at the door and when Kelly opens it she is surprised that the police are already there. Kelly looks to Jill and says, "What is this?" Jill says, "I was wearing a wire and you just confessed to me. Now get out of my face before I do something I could get arrested for." With that the police take Kelly into custody. Jill breathes a sigh of relief and heads back to the hospital.

When Jill gets back to the hospital Tim has been moved back to the regular floor and is doing better than anyone would have expected. Al, Wilson, and the boys are visiting him when Jill walks into the room. Concerned Tim says, "Where have you been?" Jill looks at him and smiles. She then spends the next hour filling all her family and friends in on the developments of the morning. Everyone is surprised that Kelly had it in her to do such an evil thing. Jill says, "Love makes you do crazy things." Tim grabs her arm and pulls her onto the bed and half angrily says, "Are you crazy going over to an attempted murder suspects house with a wire on." Jill smiles at him and gives him a peck on the check and says, "Like I said love makes you do crazy things." Everyone in the room sees the flirting going on between Jill and Tim so they all say their good-byes and leave with Al taking the boy's back to his house.

Jill snuggles up to Tim in his hospital bed and says, "So when do you think they are going to let you fly this coop." Tim kisses her neck and mumbles, "I am not sure" while he is still kissing her neck. Jill enjoying this closeness leans in the kisses. Tim starts rubbing her arms and back. Jill pulls away and says, "I don't think we should be doing this what is the nurse comes in." Tim is not easy to distract from the act of making his wife uncomfortable says, "They checked on me right before you got back." Jill relaxes a little and starts to enjoy once again Tim kissing her neck. She can tell that Tim is getting very excited and this makes her more excited until there is a knock at the door. Tim groans when the doctor walks in, the doctor picks up on the flirtatious tension in the air and realizes he walked in on something. He says, "Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Taylor it looks like I will be discharging your husband in a couple days. He has rebounded well from the latest set back and I think that a few more days resting will be good for him." Jill looks at Tim and they both realize they were caught again. Jill says, "Well he always has been a fast healer." The doctor leaves and Jill is not too far behind promising to come back first thing in the morning.

Jill gets home and barely makes it to her bed. She is exhausted from the past few days and relieved to have this whole thing behind them she falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. Her dreams are nothing but good dreams about her future with her husband and her boys.

* * *

**Authors Note: There will probably be one more chapter to give closure to the affair, but it might not be a long one.**


	8. Making Up

A month later….

Tim has been home from the hospital for a month now and things were starting to become a routine again. The day he was released from the hospital Jill brought him back to their home and tucked him into their bed for his recuperation. Tim was happy to be home and Jill was happy for him to be there. They had been through so much the last couple of months that they just wanted to forget. The boys had tons of questions about the whole thing and they tried to answer them as best as they could. You could tell the kids were happy to have their dad home too they were being extremely well behaved. Overall the Taylor's life was back to normal.

Tim had a special night planned for Jill. He had gone to the doctor and everything looked good. The doctor told Tim that he was doing remarkably well for someone who had just had major surgery and Tim told him that he had his reasons for wanting to get better fast. He had Al come and get the boys for the night. He set up a romantic dinner for the two of them with lots of candles, wine, and good food.

Jill came home from school and was greeted with a note and a new dress on the front door. She was directed to go into the garage slip into the dress and then come into the house. Jill was curious about what her husband was doing but played along. When she was ready and entered the house she found the room lit by candles, there must have been hundreds. She saw flowers everywhere, soft music playing in the background and a romantic dinner set for two. All that was missing was her husband, then from around the corner came Tim dressed in a Tux. She looked at him and thought God he looks good. Tim was thinking the same thing about her; the dress he picked out for her was a long, black and form fitting with spaghetti straps, a low cut back and a slit up the side of the leg. He was very tempted to just rip it off her right now but he wanted the evening to build to that. Jill was thinking that maybe they could just skip dinner and get to the dessert. Tim was the first to speak he says, "You look wonderful." Jill says, "Well you have good taste." Modeling the dress a little for him. She knew she was torturing him because she felt the same way it had been so long since the two of them were together in a romantic way. Jill asks, "So where are the boys?" Tim smiles and says, "Gone for the night." Jill says, "Oh really, now what did you have in mind that the boy needed to be gone?" Walking over to her Tim says, "I went to the doctor today. He told me I am healing well, better than expected. I thought we could celebrate." Noticing how close he was to her she asks, "And what type of celebrating were you planning?" Tim pulls her in for a hug and says, "Well, first I thought we could have some dinner. Then maybe some dancing. Finally we could have some dessert." Distracted by how good his body felt so close to her she just moans. Tim knows he has her right where he wants he so he pulls away and walks to the table. Disappointed Jill follows and sits in the chair Tim has pulled out for her.

After they finish the dinner Tim had catered in they retire to the couch. Jill says, "Wow that food was wonderful. I couldn't eat another bite." Tim says, "I hope you still have room for dessert." Jill looks at him and says, "I was hoping dessert wasn't going to be something I had to eat." Tim grunts and Jill pulls him in for a long kiss. Not really wanting to Tim pulls away and gets up, he holds his hand out for her and says, "Let's dance." Once again Jill is disappointed. Tim wants her desire to build to the point of maximum impact; all this flirting is killing him as well. He just wants to take her right here but he knows that if they wait just a little bit longer it will be better. They get up and dance. Jill is thinking about how good it feels to be in his arms, how long she has waited for this, how safe she feels when surrounded by him and if this doesn't end soon she was going to explode. Tim was also thinking about how many times over the last three months he wanted her to be in his arms like this, how good her body felt up against him, and how he couldn't wait much longer. The song finished and Tim gives Jill a kiss. When they separate Jill pulls him back in and says, "I am ready for that dessert now." Tim says, "OK I will go and get it." Jill holds onto him tighter and says, "I really don't think I want it to be food." She kisses him again this time hungrily. Tim responds and when they break apart says, "Let's go somewhere more comfortable." Tim leads her to their room.

The room is filled with flowers and candles just like the downstairs with soft music playing through the intercom. There is a bottle of champagne chilling and some whipped cream and strawberries waiting to be consumed. Jill is pleasantly surprised when Tim says, "What should we have first?" Jill looks at with a gleam in her eyes and says, "All I want is you." She kisses him passionately, Tim responds and starts to remove her straps on her dress. He stops himself and says, "How about some strawberries first?" Jill looks at him surprised in all the years she has known him he has always been the one eager to get down to business. She thinks to herself that he is trying to drive me crazy well two can play that game. She excuses herself and goes into the bathroom, when she returns she is in a sexy lingerie outfit that Tim has never seen before. He looks at her and thinks I don't know how much longer I can hold back. She walks over rubs up against him, then goes to pour them some champagne. She gives him a glass and dips a strawberry in whipped cream, brings it to her mouth and licks the cream off with her tongue. Watching her is making Tim hot, he removes his jacket and tie then unbuttons his shirt. Jill continues to eat the strawberry and juice runs down her chin, she goes for a napkin but Tim grabs her hand and licks the juice off. They end up in a long passionate kiss. Both nearing their breaking point Jill rubs Tim's chest and removes his shirt and before she knows what is happening Tim has laid her down on the bed. The rest of their clothing is discarded and they official make up. When they are finished Jill is lying with her head on Tim's chest and very contently says, "You know we have a lot more making up to do." Tim smiles and says, "I was hoping you would say that." They make love off and on throughout the night until they finally fall asleep in each other's arms at sunrise.

* * *

**Well this is the end. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Please let me know what you think.**


End file.
